If you had any type of testing after D&C...

LSzwaya

I want to thank everyone who has responded to my previous two posts. I feel really lost after this miscarriage. My other FOUR, I knew what was happening and what to expect but this is really new territory for me. 

 I have decided after reading your stories that  D&C is probably the way to go for me. I have felt really tormented the last 24 hours knowing my baby is still inside of me but isn't alive. And I cant imagine feeling this way a second longer than I need too.

 My question is if you had a D&C and were able to have genetic testing done, what kind of information did they tell you? Will they tell me the gender of this baby? I will also be starting the process of finding out why my body will not let me keep a pregnancy since having DS. I have regular cycles (35 days) and was on progesterone for this pregnancy and this is  the farthest I have gotten so my OB said when I meet with a high risk team and that "we'll test you for auto immune disorders stuff like that". I felt overwhelmed so I didn't ask what "stuff like that" may be. Any insight?

 

Thank you again.  

Mrs.DeliaMarieP

I wasn't able to have any testing done, but I just wanted to say that I am glad you were able to make a decision regarding the miscarriage itself and doing a d&c.  I hope they are able to do testing for you, and I wish you the best with any testing that your doctors do on you.  Hopefully you will find some resolvable answers to your miscarriages.

katharine25

I'm so sorry you are dealing with this. 

One of the main benefits of a d&c is the ability for then to test the pathology of the baby. It tests for chromosonal abnormalities and possible infections. And Yes, they can typically tell you the gender. There might be some discrepancies however I you weren't far enough along, or the missed m/c was discovered too late (effectively degrading the quality of the pathology sample). There's also some grey areas too where samples are either a female LO or just your own tissue. I'm not quite clear on this, but I think it can depend on the gestational age and te quality of the sample.

Be prepared that You might not get an answer though. It will really only tell you if the chromosomes were developing a non-viable fetus. If everything shows a perfectly healthy LO, then you'll need to have testing done on yourself for the mysterious "answer". 

ETA: For example, my pathology showe a genetically perfect fetus. Thereor we haven't done karyotping on dH and I as that wasn't te problem. I'm focusing on my own body for blood clotting, immunology or hormonal problems. It becomes a game of ruling out the possibilities. If you get results back that show chromosonal problems, you'll be able to focus further testing on those areas instead.

ktsnshn

I am sorry you have to go through this. I can't give you any answers because I did not have any testing done after either of my D&C's. I do think it was a good choice for me to have the D&C's. They helped me have some closure because I knew the miscarriage was finally overhand I could start moving forward. Huge ((hugs.))

tdmd09

I'm so sorry for your losses. My last m/c was found at 11w2d with the baby measuring 10w4d, so very similar to yours. I had a D&C and asked for testing because it was my second loss. They did pathology and chromosome studies and found my baby (girl) had Down Syndrome, which caused the loss. We were referred to a genetic counselor for more information, which was very helpful (although emotionally draining). At the time we were on the fence about knowing the sex of the baby (well, I was on the fence, DH didn't want to know), but they ended up telling us with the chromosome analysis. I'll be honest -- I don't know to this day whether knowing the sex made things harder or easier.

Before we found out about the chromosome diagnosis, we did a "repeat loss panel" on me. This involved blood testing for clotting disorders and autoimmune disorders (I had 9+ vials of blood drawn). Your doctor will probably make you wait a few weeks after your D&C to do this testing because pregnancy makes your clotting factors wonky, so you need to be in a totally non-pregnant state for the results to be accurate. It does take a few weeks for all of the blood work to come back as well.

I had D&Cs with both my losses and felt good about my decision, it made things a little emotionally easier to just wake up and know my baby was in a better place without having to go through the physical process of miscarrying. I hope your surgery goes smoothly and that you guys are able to get some answers, or at least some peace. 

LSzwaya

tdmd09:

I'm so sorry for your losses. My last m/c was found at 11w2d with the baby measuring 10w4d, so very similar to yours. I had a D&C and asked for testing because it was my second loss. They did pathology and chromosome studies and found my baby (girl) had Down Syndrome, which caused the loss. We were referred to a genetic counselor for more information, which was very helpful (although emotionally draining). At the time we were on the fence about knowing the sex of the baby (well, I was on the fence, DH didn't want to know), but they ended up telling us with the chromosome analysis. I'll be honest -- I don't know to this day whether knowing the sex made things harder or easier.

Before we found out about the chromosome diagnosis, we did a "repeat loss panel" on me. This involved blood testing for clotting disorders and autoimmune disorders (I had 9+ vials of blood drawn). Your doctor will probably make you wait a few weeks after your D&C to do this testing because pregnancy makes your clotting factors wonky, so you need to be in a totally non-pregnant state for the results to be accurate. It does take a few weeks for all of the blood work to come back as well.

I had D&Cs with both my losses and felt good about my decision, it made things a little emotionally easier to just wake up and know my baby was in a better place without having to go through the physical process of miscarrying. I hope your surgery goes smoothly and that you guys are able to get some answers, or at least some peace. 

Thank you. This was really helpful, especially because our timelines are so similar.  

Cubskers

I've missed your intro and other posts, so I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry for your losses.  I can imagine your hurt and frustration. 

I had a D&C and had RPL testing completed even though this was my first loss.  The chromosomal testing on the fetus will vary depending on how far along you were and how much of a sample they can obtain.  I will tell you that with the results, you may not get answers.  I was expecting an answer and only learned that I had 2 normal baby girls whose hearts just stopped.  At the time, that was hard to digest.  Some days, it still is. 

For me, knowing the gender was very helpful, but I can see where it could be hurtful for other people.  When my RE was discussing the results, I interrupted her and asked her not to tell me the gender, but rather to put the results into an envelope for DH and I to open when/if we were ready.  It was about 2 1/2 months after that we were both ready. 

The bloodwork they will do is likely a hormonal panel as well as any clotting disorders or autoimmune disorders (like lupus).  I gave 8-10 vials I believe, so be expecting a large blood draw. 

G/L with the D&C (if that is the route you choose to take.)  Will be thinking about you. 

Mrs Carbo

Just adding to what others have said above, one of the primary benefits that I saw in having the D&C was the ability to do genetic testing (karyotyping). My Dr. was willing to do this with my first loss. We found out our baby boy had trisomy 16, which is incompatible with life and is one of the most common chromosomal causes of early first trimester losses. I found out the sex of the baby through the results the genetic test, DH still does not want to know because he says it makes it too "real" for him.

The Dr. also wrote DH and I scrips to have karyotyping done ourselves, and left it up to us whether or not we wanted to have this done. I was on the fence about it until recently, and we decided to go for it. I am hoping to have the results back sometime this week.

(((big hugs))) 

LSzwaya

Mrs Carbo:

Just adding to what others have said above, one of the primary benefits that I saw in having the D&C was the ability to do genetic testing (karyotyping). My Dr. was willing to do this with my first loss. We found out our baby boy had trisomy 16, which is incompatible with life and is one of the most common chromosomal causes of early first trimester losses. I found out the sex of the baby through the results the genetic test, DH still does not want to know because he says it makes it too "real" for him.

The Dr. also wrote DH and I scrips to have karyotyping done ourselves, and left it up to us whether or not we wanted to have this done. I was on the fence about it until recently, and we decided to go for it. I am hoping to have the results back sometime this week.

(((big hugs))) 

 

How long does the genetic testing and karyotyping take to get results? 

katharine25

Cubskers:

I had a D&C and had RPL testing completed even though this was my first loss.  The chromosomal testing on the fetus will vary depending on how far along you were and how much of a sample they can obtain.  I will tell you that with the results, you may not get answers.  I was expecting an answer and only learned that I had 2 normal baby girls whose hearts just stopped.  At the time, that was hard to digest.  Some days, it still is. 

 

I agree with this very much - for me knowing it was a genetically perfect baby has made it very hard for me to accept the loss. Had it been a chromosomal thing, at least it would make sense to me.  It's a risk you run with having testing done, but it has made me  more aggression in getting doctors to test for other factors, because I KNOW there is something wrong with me.

Missuskeekers

With both my d&cs I got genetic testing done and found out the sex, my first baby was a boy and had triploidy xxy, which is a fluke genetic abnormality and is incompatible with life. My second baby was a girl and had Turners syndrome (monosomy x) which can be compatible with life but in my little girls case it was not. Both of my losses were "flukes/bad luck" neither diagnosis is something that is passed genetically from dh or I. I found this reassuring and when I found out the sex of my first baby I found it initially hard to go from calling my baby "it" to "he" but I eventually did appreciate knowing and wanted to know the second time too.

Mrs Carbo

LSzwaya:

Mrs Carbo:

Just adding to what others have said above, one of the primary benefits that I saw in having the D&C was the ability to do genetic testing (karyotyping). My Dr. was willing to do this with my first loss. We found out our baby boy had trisomy 16, which is incompatible with life and is one of the most common chromosomal causes of early first trimester losses. I found out the sex of the baby through the results the genetic test, DH still does not want to know because he says it makes it too "real" for him.

The Dr. also wrote DH and I scrips to have karyotyping done ourselves, and left it up to us whether or not we wanted to have this done. I was on the fence about it until recently, and we decided to go for it. I am hoping to have the results back sometime this week.

(((big hugs))) 

 

How long does the genetic testing and karyotyping take to get results? 

I had the results from the baby's karyotyping at my two week follow up after the D&C. I think this is pretty quick and I know that it can vary.

The doctor said that the results from my and DH's karyotype bloodwork should take about two weeks as well.

Missuskeekers

Ah sorry I forgot to say how long it took. It took about 2 months for the first one and 2.5 months for the second one. I am in Canada though so I think it's different here.